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Over many years, the heirs of James Garfield discussed openly about his impressive career but avoided talking about his tragic assassination. We were aware what had happened, that he was shot in a railway depot,” reflects one of his modern descendants. “We learned about the story in publications but, somehow, we just glanced over it.”

Fresh Curiosity in a Historical Figure

This shifted in 2011 with the publication of a historical book, which generated attention in Garfield's truncated career. The book has now resulted in a television production titled Death by Lightning, starring a talented performer as the president and Matthew Macfadyen as the drifter who shot him.

The series promises to illuminate Garfield, who rose from poverty to the White House during the economic era only to become a casualty to its bitter partisan conflicts. His tenure was ended prematurely after only 200 days not only by the gunman's shot but by physician mistakes – an incident now frequently ignored while the deaths of Abraham Lincoln and President Kennedy continue to intrigue the public.

“It's impossible not to respect what he did. He was incredibly versatile: he was a legal professional, he was a minister, he was a farmer. He was multiple professions which also shaped who he was and his behavior and all the information about him the relatives maintain with us.”

Rising from Poverty to the Highest Office

Garfield was the last president coming from pioneer roots in the Midwest in 1831. His dad perished when he was 18 months old, leaving his mother, Eliza, to raise five children in challenging conditions. An dedicated student, Garfield found employment on vessels to earn money for an formal learning.

He pursued jurisprudence, was entered the clergy, became leader of an institution in Ohio and was a political representative. In 1858 he entered matrimony with a previous schoolmate, his partner, with whom he would have a large family. An passionate nationalist, Garfield viewed the civil war as a moral battle against human bondage and advanced to the rank of major general.

“When I started researching him, I found it incredible. He was absolutely brilliant. He was fearless. He was ahead of his time for the era. He was caring. He was a good person and would have been a remarkable commander-in-chief had he survived.”

Public Life and Unexpected Nomination

Garfield was persuaded by the wartime leader to leave army service when he was selected to the Congress, where he would serve as a party member for nearly two decades. He was strong supporter of black suffrage, viewing it as a issue of rights and the completion of a wartime covenant.

“The address he delivered on the floor of Congress will tear your heart out. He was an incredibly powerful orator and this matter was extremely significant to him.”

At the 1880 Republican National Convention in Chicago the party was fundamentally fractured between the “Stalwarts”, led by a powerful politician, who supported a additional presidency for former president, and the “Half-Breeds”, who supported political contender. Garfield attended as a backer of his close associate John Sherman.

When the massive gathering was deadlocked between Grant and Blaine, party members began looking for a middle ground. Garfield's powerful oration supporting Sherman won them over. During the speech, he reportedly exclaimed, “And now, gentlemen of the convention, what do we want?” to which a voice from the crowd unexpectedly replied, “We want Garfield!”

On the 36th ballot, a wave of backers made Garfield the unexpected candidate. To appease the Stalwart faction, Chester Arthur, a Conkling loyalist from New York, was chosen as his vice president. In the national vote Garfield overcame the Democratic nominee to become the only sitting member of the House ever to be elected president.

Truncated Term and Political Battles

“Garfield's potential greatness and what is remarkably uncommon and maybe particular about the American presidency is he hadn't campaigned aggressively. It's not that he had completely dismissed it but he was forced into the role.”

The major battle of Garfield's limited administration was his clash with Conkling over the “spoils system”. Conkling demanded control over federal patronage in New York, particularly the powerful and lucrative post of port authority. Garfield refused, stating the issue was “if the commander-in-chief should be registering clerk of the senate or the executive of the United States”. He proposed a political foe of Conkling to the post.

The confrontation became a public battle but Garfield outmaneuvered Conkling in the Senate. Experiencing a public failure, Conkling and his associate quit Congress in protest. The next day, Garfield's nominee was approved. It was a historic triumph for the executive authority over the faction system and for the improvement efforts over “boss rule”.

The Assassin and His Psychological Issues

But even as Garfield fought powerful figures of his party, he was being pursued by a disturbed and delusional man who embodied the negative aspect of the spoils network. The gunman was a wanderer with a background of career disappointments, psychological problems and physical and psychological abuse. He had not succeeded as a legal professional, bill collector, minister and member of a unconventional group.

“He was psychologically disturbed and his unique form of delusion was false belief. He always believed that religious calling for significance. He actually had financially a better start than Garfield but where Garfield achieved and rose, Guiteau failed at everything.”

But Guiteau believed he had at last discovered a way to accomplishment: politics. Carried away in the excitement of the political contest, he prepared and gave an insignificant speech, and became convinced in his own mind that he was personally instrumental for Garfield's victory.

Under this logic, Guiteau calculated he had deserved a high-level government job. He travelled to Washington and continuously bothered Garfield, Blaine and other leaders, requiring to be made the foreign service officer — a post for which he had inadequate skills. He became such a nuisance that he was eventually excluded from the White House.

The Assassination and Physician Mistakes

On that fateful day, just four months into his presidency, Garfield was leaving Washington for his educational gathering. As he moved through the train depot, Guiteau appeared suddenly, produced an weapon from his jacket and assassinated the leader in the back.

Garfield cried out: “What's happening?” and collapsed on the waiting area. When a {police officer|law